EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings have upgraded their secondary in a big way.
Minnesota announced Thursday that the team has agreed to terms with cornerback Patrick Peterson, a move that will add an eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro to the roster, pending a physical.
The 30-year-old Peterson was also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2010s All-Decade Team that was announced in April 2020. He was one of three cornerbacks selected for that prestigious honor.
The addition of Peterson means Minnesota now has an experienced cornerback to help mentor youngsters such as Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler and Mike Hughes.
Peterson's presence adds extra depth and reliability in a cornerbacks group that was hit hard by injuries in 2020. Gladney played in every game (with 15 starts) while Dantzler played in 11 with 10 starts, but both endured ups and downs in their rookie seasons.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft out of LSU, Peterson spent the previous 10 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and is considered one of the top players in franchise history.
He appeared in 154 career games — all of them starts — and recorded 499 tackles (447 solo) with 10 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
View photos of new Vikings CB Patrick Peterson who recently joined the team.
But he made his name as one of the league's best cornerbacks in the past decade (including eight straight trips to the Pro Bowl from 2011-18) by being a shutdown cornerback who routinely guarded opponents' No. 1 receivers.
Peterson recently played in the slot for Arizona, and joins Gladney as cornerbacks on the roster who can play both inside and outside.
Peterson tallied 28 career interceptions with the Cardinals, including one pick-six, and also recorded 91 passes defenses. He has recorded two or more interceptions in nine of his 10 seasons in the league.
Peterson also made his name as a dynamic punt returner early in his career, as he returned four punts for scores as a rookie in 2011. And while his punt return duties dwindled in recent seasons, he has averaged 9.3 yards per punt return on 196 career attempts.
And even though he is 30, Peterson proved his durability in 2020 by playing 1,096 snaps (or 99 percent) on defense for the Cardinals. He played at least 92 percent of Arizona's defensive snaps in nine of the past 10 seasons.
